According to a new study, animal studies are poor predictors of birth defect risks, being accurate on average just slightly more than half the time.

Instead, test tube tests on embryonic stem cells are more effective at detecting toxicity than animal tests, says the study's principal author, Jarrod Bailey of the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne.

"It is time to admit that animal-based testing is an abject failure," he says. "An estimated 50,000 to 70,000 new chemicals and up to 400 new drugs are introduced to the market every year. Every year we delay, every year we continue to rely on animal testing, brings us that much closer to another tragedy like thalidomide."

(Source: Betterhumans)